1Then Job responded, 2
"Truly then you are the people, And with you
wisdom will die! 3"But
I have intelligence as well as you; I am not
inferior to you.
And who does not know such things as these? 4"I
am a joke to my friends, The one who called on
God and He answered him; The just and
blameless man is a joke. 5"He
who is at ease holds calamity in contempt, As
prepared for those whose feet slip. 6
"The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those
who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into
their power.

7"But now ask
the beasts, and let them teach you; And the
birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. 8
"Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to you. 9
"Who among all these does not know That the hand
of the LORD has done this, 10
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind? 11
"Does not the ear test words, As the palate
tastes its food? 12
"Wisdom is with aged men, With long life
is understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13"With Him are
wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and
understanding. 14
"Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release. 15
"Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth. 16
"With Him are strength and sound wisdom, The
misled and the misleader belong to Him. 17
"He makes counselors walk barefoot And makes
fools of judges. 18"He
loosens the bond of kings
And binds their loins with a girdle. 19"He
makes priests walk barefoot And overthrows the
secure ones. 20"He
deprives the trusted ones of speech And takes
away the discernment of the elders. 21
"He pours contempt on nobles
And loosens the belt of the strong. 22"He
reveals mysteries from the darkness And brings
the deep darkness into light. 23
"He makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges the nations, then leads them away. 24
"He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth's people
And makes them wander in a pathless waste. 25
"They grope in darkness with no light, And He
makes them stagger like a drunken man.

13 Job Says His
Friends' Proverbs Are Ashes

1"Behold, my eye
has seen all this, My ear has heard and
understood it. 2
"What you know I also know; I am not inferior to
you.

3"But I would
speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue
with God. 4"But you
smear with lies; You are all worthless
physicians. 5"O
that you would be completely silent, And that it
would become your wisdom! 6"Please
hear my argument And listen to the contentions
of my lips. 7"Will
you speak what is unjust for God, And speak what
is deceitful for Him? 8
"Will you show partiality for Him? Will you
contend for God? 9"Will
it be well when He examines you? Or will you
deceive Him as one deceives a man? 10
"He will surely reprove you If you secretly show
partiality. 11"Will
not His majesty terrify you, And the dread of
Him fall on you? 12"Your
memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your
defenses are defenses of clay.

Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated

13"Be silent
before me so that I may speak; Then let come on
me what may. 14"Why
should I take my flesh in my teeth And put my
life in my hands? 15
"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him. 16
"This also will be my salvation, For a godless
man may not come before His presence. 17
"Listen carefully to my speech, And let my
declaration fill your ears. 18
"Behold now, I have prepared my case; I know
that I will be vindicated. 19
"Who will contend with me? For then I would be
silent and die.

20"Only two
things do not do to me, Then I will not hide
from Your face: 21Remove
Your hand from me, And let not the dread of You
terrify me. 22"Then
call, and I will answer; Or let me speak, then
reply to me. 23"How
many are my iniquities and sins? Make known to
me my rebellion and my sin. 24
"Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your
enemy? 25"Will You
cause a driven leaf to tremble? Or will You
pursue the dry chaff? 26
"For You write bitter things against me And make
me to inherit the iniquities of my youth. 27
"You put my feet in the stocks And watch all my
paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet,
28While I am
decaying like a rotten thing, Like a garment
that is moth-eaten.

The Holy Bible, New American
Standard Version (c)1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by the Lockman
Foundation, La Habra, CA. All rights reserved. Words
identified as being spoken by Jesus are in red.www.BibleABC.net